Terms of Service

1. “Company” refers to smarteplans & smarteplans.co.uk, including but not limited to any principals, employees and advisors associated with said companies.

2. “the Client” is the owner/occupier or person who commissions services from the Company.

3. Project is defined in the quotation.

4. “Other Person” means any person, company or firm, other than the Company or any sub-consultants of the Company who have performed or will perform work related to the project.

1. Client’s Responsibilities

1.1 The Client will provide a clear explanation of the project and any relevant information the Company needs to carry out their services.

1.2 The Client will provide the Company with clear information about the Client’s budget and required timescales for completion of the Company’s services and the project.

1.3 The Client can appoint any other professional specialist services whose fees shall be separate from, and additional to, those charged by the Company. The Company shall not be responsible or liable for the work of those other professional specialist services and their services are completely independent of the Companies, such matters as, but not limited to:

Surveyor/measured plan survey, Structural Engineer who handle the structural aspect of the design

Quantity Surveyor to confirm cost estimates and advise on payments to the builder during the constructions phase

A Landscape Architect to complete the tying together of the building and land

A builder or construction company should you require measurement’s or advice on site

An Interior Designer should you require input on the furniture, fittings and decorating of your building

A Glazing company, Kitchen Company, Bathroom Company or any third party company that has been instructed independently, as we do not give authority or a licence for our drawings being used for any other purpose other than what has been commissioned. Energy Specialist should you require a SAP calculation for glazing which is above 25%, highly glazed extensions or a New Build.

A Day Light and Sunlight Specialist should your Local Authority require a report

The client shall hold each consultant appointed, separately responsible for the competence and performance of their own services and liability.

1.4 The Client will be available at all reasonable times throughout the project in order to give prompt consideration to the Company’s advice and the Company’s queries and to provide prompt responses. If the Client fails to respond in a timely manor to questions the Company rely on, the Company may remove itself as Acting Agent without prior notice.

1.5 The client shall provide, free of charge, the information in the client’s possession, or which is reasonably obtainable, and which is necessary for the proper and timely performance of the services and the Company shall be entitled to rely on such information;

1.6 The client will hold the contractor or contractors and not the Company responsible for the proper carrying out of on site measurements and completion of construction all/any works. The Client shall employ a contractor under a separate agreement to undertake construction or other works relating to the project. The contractor shall be responsible for the proper carrying out and completion of the works and for health and safety provisions on site.

1.7 The Client acknowledges that the Company does not warrant compliance with the construction cost and/or the timetable, which may need to be reviewed for such matters as, but not limited to:

(a) approved variations arising from design development or requested by the Client;

(b) delays caused by any Other Person; and/or

(c) any other factors beyond control of the Company

1.8 The Client will provide instructions to proceed, either with, confirmation in writing or via email or by way of a payment of a deposit.

2. Company’s Responsibilities

2.1 The Company shall provide their services, duties and obligations with reasonable skill and care in conformity with appropriate professional standards. The company will act on behalf of the Client in matters set out in Fee Proposal provided.

2.2 The Company shall not be responsible for the work of the building contractor nor for any failure of the building contractor to complete the building work in accordance with the terms of the building contract.

2.3 Make no material alteration to the Services or the approved design without the consent of the Client, except in an emergency (for example, to prevent refusal of application unless minor revisions are required and the Client is unreachable within the deadline provided).

3. Site Measure

3.1 The Client is responsible to ensure that the site is in a suitable condition to measure, i.e. access into buildings/rooms provided and building is in a tidy/safe condition so that measurements/details can be taken. If a second visit is required due to poor condition or limited access then this will be chargeable.

3.2 All dimensions should be checked by the contractor on site prior to works commencing and variations in squareness, depth of plaster etc, must be checked for. It may be necessary for the contractor to remove brickwork and / or plaster to establish the actual position of the wall.

The Company States that:

Do Not Scale from the drawing: Party Wall Act 1996: Party wall agreements are the responsibility of the client. Drawing for planning purposes only, not construction. Check that the drawing is the latest/final revision, if in doubt, ask. Any dimensions shown are subject to site surveys and all measurements are to be checked on site prior to any construction or manufacture.

All dimensions are in millimetres unless stated otherwise. No dimensions to be scaled from drawings. Specific details are subject to further design development. The drawing is copyright protected. Drawings can only be used with the permission of smarteplans. Refer any discrepancy to smarteplans. THE PLAN HAS BEEN PREPARED FROM INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CLIENT & FROM ORDANANCE SURVEY PLANS & AS SUCH CANNOT BE RELYED UPON FOR ACCURACY OF SITE DIMENSIONS. The client is responsible for defining the correct boundaries & site ownership, smarteplans cannot be held responsible for subsequent Land disputes or any material loss when obtaining information from this plan. It is the responsibility of the client to wait for planning & building regulations approval before commissioning any works.

4. Planning Permission and Building Regulations Approval

4.1 The Company cannot guarantee that planning permission and/or Building Regulations approval will be granted because these decisions rest with the Local Planning Authority or Building Control. The Company will consider Local Authority guidelines so that the project has a good chance of success, however, sometimes exemptions to guidelines will have to be negotiated to achieve the design required for the project. Should the Client wish to resubmit an application the Company will charge an hourly rate of £45.00 for the works undertaken. If a new proposal is to be drafted then a separate fee agreement will be produced.

5. Fees & Payment Terms

5.1 The Company’s fee is outlined in the Fee Proposal provided and is only valid for 7 days. Any services requested by the Client that are not listed on there document will be charged at £45.00 per hour/alteration or provided in a separate agreement and will be agreed in writing prior to any commencement. Deviations from your original brief and quotation will be notified to you and invoiced separately, if you require us to carry out the additions that you are requesting.

5.2 The Company’s fee is calculated on reliance upon the accuracy and completeness of information provided by the Client. Should there be additional works not mentioned at the outset then the quotation will be revised or a fee for the additional works will be provided.

5.3 The Company’s fee includes our expenses but excludes any disbursements; any disbursements made on the Clients behalf, such as payments to the local authority for planning submission or Building Regulations approval will be charged at net cost.

5.4 To commence with appointment the Company require a non-refundable deposit (amount confirmed in the Fee Proposal). The remainder to be paid outlined in the Fee Proposal.

5.5 An invoice will be produced for payments and settlement is required within 14 days, invoices not settled within 15 days of the date on that invoice will attract interest at the rate specified by the Late Payment of commercial Debts (interest Act 1998). It shall be added to any outstanding amount for the period from the day after the due date until the date of receipt (whether before or after judgement) together with any reasonable and proper amounts we incurred in seeking to recover such late payments (including legal fees, court fees and admin fees).

5.6 Should our involvement with the project exceed 2 months from the deposit date and at our discretion, we will invoice for the works carried out up to that date and at the end of every month on a pro-rata basis.

5.7 Once the Company has prepared the final drawings for the Client, as instructed, the client has 5 working days in which to accept their drawings, so that the Company may submit to the Local Authorities on the Clients behalf and act as their Agent “Free Of Charge” Failure by the Client to respond in this timeframe, set out by the Company, may result in the Company closing their file and the Client loosing the right to the Company acting on their behalf, as Agent “Free Of Charge” (All final documentation will be sent to the client for their own submissions).

5.8 All drawings are prepared for one single application only, a refusal on any consent will automatically close the current file and a new application will need to be sought if both parties agree and a new quote has been issued and paid in full.

6. Termination

6.1 Either the Client or the Company may terminate the service/agreement by giving the other seven days written notice of termination.

6.3 Upon termination of the agreement, the Client will pay the Company’s fee for those services which have been provided up to the date of termination of the agreement. If a survey has already taken place the outstanding amount for the survey and technical drawing of the survey will be required in full, as all surveys are subsidised and rolled into your drawing package, cancellation or none payment of your package will result in an outstanding amount of £250 for the survey and technical drawing of the survey (up to 1250 sq ft. Full amount £500) and £450 for the survey and technical drawing of the survey (up to 2500 sq ft. Full amount £700), if cancelled after a survey has taken place and a package is no longer required (Surveys are only discounted when taken in conjunction with one of our packages).

7. Liability and Insurance

7.1 The Company nor any employees of the Company or agents of the Company shall be personally liable to the Client for any negligence, default or any other liability whatsoever arising from performance of the Services.

8. Confidentiality

8.1 Neither Party will use, copy, alter or part with possession of any information of the other which is disclosed or otherwise comes into its possession under or in relation to this Agreement and which is of a confidential nature. This obligation will not apply to information which the recipient can prove was in its possession at the date it was received or obtained or which the recipient obtains from some other person with good legal title to it or which is in or comes into the public domain otherwise than through the default or negligence of the recipient or which is independently developed by or for the recipient.

9. Copyright – THE CLIENT’S PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS DRAWN TO THIS CLAUSE 9

9.1. Clauses 9.2 to 9.7 shall apply where:

9.1.1. the Client has obtained architectural drawings or other works and materials that are or may be subject or potentially subject to copyright or other intellectual property rights from any Other Person (“Third Party Materials”); and

9.1.2. the Project requires the Company to:

9.1.2.1. copy;

9.1.2.2. issue copies to the public of;

9.1.2.3. adapt for other purposes; or

9.1.2.4. otherwise make use of,

(“Use”) the Third Party Materials.

9.2. The Client hereby grants to the Company for the purposes included and outcomes sought to be achieved by the Project a non-exclusive, royalty-free, unencumbered licence or sub-licence (as the case may be) to Use the Third Party Materials for the purposes of the Project (“Licensed Rights”).

9.3. The Client warrants that:

9.3.1. the Use by the Company of the Licensed Rights will not infringe the rights of any third person; and

9.3.2. it either:

9.3.2.1. is the sole legal and beneficial owner of, and owns all right, title and interest in, the Third Party Materials; or

9.3.2.2. has the consent of the owner or rights holder of the Third Party Materials or otherwise has the right to grant to the Company the licence contained in clause 9.2 and that such licence is not excluded or prohibited (expressly or impliedly) by any agreement (written or oral) between the Client and the applicable owner or rights holder of the Third Party Materials.

9.4. The Client shall indemnify the Company against for and against all liabilities, costs, expenses, damages, fees, and losses (including but not limited to any direct, indirect or consequential losses, loss of profit, loss of reputation, and all interest penalties and legal costs (calculated on a full indemnity basis), and all other professional costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by the Company arising out of or in connection with any breach of the warranties contained in clause 9.3.

9.5. The indemnity contained in clause 9.4 shall apply whether or not the Customer has been negligent or intentionally at fault.

9.6. At the request of the Company and at the Client’s own expense, the Client shall provide all reasonable assistance to enable the Company to resist any claim, action or proceedings brought against the Company as a consequence of any breach by the Client of the warranties contained in clause 9.3.

9.7. Nothing in this clause 9 shall restrict or limit the Company’s general obligation at law to mitigate a loss it may suffer or incur as a result of an event that may give rise to a claim under the indemnity contained in clause 9.4.

9.8. The copyright in all designs, drawings, DWGs, RVTs, reports, models, specifications, bills of quantities, calculations and any other documents prepared by the Company (“the Documents”) shall remain vested in the Company. As long as the Company has received the payment of all fees properly due and owing, the Company grants a licence to the Client to use the drawings in PDF format only, for the intended, commissioned purposes, set out in the engagement of the project (excluding any extension of the project) 1.e Planning Drawings for the sole use of obtaining Planning Permission and Building Regulations Drawings for the sole purpose of obtaining Building Regulations. If our drawings are or have been used for any other purpose than the one commissioned and paid in full for by the client, then the balance of the unsolicited amount may be sought and/or damages resorting from improper use of a particular purpose and infringement of copyright may be legally sought, termination of engagement will be absolute.

9.9. The Company shall not be liable for any use of the Documents for any purpose other than that for which they were prepared and provided by the Company.

9.10. The use of SMARTePLANS drawings and floor plans without the express permission of SMARTePLANS or without full payment, will result in a breach of copyright.

10. Time Scales

10.1 Where under this Agreement an action is required within a specified period of dates from a specified date, that period commences immediately after that date. The period shall exclude Saturdays, Sunday and all Public Holidays.

10.2 The Company will provide an estimation of the time to complete their Services before proceeding. In certain cases or during high workloads this may not be met but every reasonable effort will be made to complete the works in a reasonable time scale.

Should you wish to proceed, please email or write to us with your instruction, including the services you wish us to carry out and the billing name and address. We require a deposit to be paid before our services begin, which is outlined in this fee proposal, an invoice will be created for the deposit following receipt of you billing details.

Website Usage Terms and Conditions

Welcome to smarteplans.co.uk If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern smarteplans relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please do not use our website.

The term ‘smarteplans’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of the website whose office smarteplans.co.uk The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.

The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:

The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.

Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.

This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.

All trademarks reproduced in this website, which are not the property of, or licensed to the operator, are acknowledged on the website.

Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence.

From time to time, this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).

Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Privacy Policy

This privacy policy sets out how smarteplans uses and protects any information that you give smarteplans when you use this website.

Smarteplans is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured

that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.

Smarteplans may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

What we collect

We may collect the following information:

name and job title

contact information including email address

demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests

other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers

What we do with the information we gather

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

Internal record keeping.

We may use the information to improve our products and services.

We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.

From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, fax or mail. We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How we use cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Controlling your personal information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes

if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to or emailing us at [email address]

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. A small fee will be payable. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to [address].

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

General Enquires should be sent to team@smarteplans.co.uk